Prevailing chaos in procurement reflects govt’s unpreparedness: Kotha Prabhakar Reddy

Dubbak MLA Kotha Prabhakar Reddy joined protesting farmers at Alwal junction in Siddipet district and criticised the State government over delays in paddy procurement. He accused officials of poor preparedness and warned that expected rains could damage harvested crops at procurement centres

Siddipet: Dubbak MLA Kotha Prabhakar Reddy said that the way the State government was handling paddy and other grain procurement reflected its lack of commitment to farmers’ issues. The Dubbak MLA, who was on his way to participate in an awareness programme on oil palm cultivation in Mirudoddi on Tuesday, saw farmers protesting over the delay in paddy procurement by blocking the road at Alwal junction. He immediately joined them and extended his solidarity.

Speaking on the occasion, Reddy said the prevailing chaos in procurement reflected the government’s lack of preparedness in terms of storage godowns, transportation facilities, gunny bags, paddy cleaners, tarpaulins and hamalis. He accused officials of listing the paddy under ‘B’ grade even after the farmers cleaned it, causing injustice to them. The BRS MLA said the procurement of sunflower and maize had also come to a halt due to a shortage of gunny bags and other reasons.

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After interacting with the farmers, he also spoke to officials and urged them to fast-track the procurement process to end the struggles of farmers. Since the IMD had predicted rains and hailstorms in the State, Reddy said the delay would damage the harvested paddy brought to procurement centres.

Later, the MLA felicitated Class 10 students who scored over 500 marks in the board examinations. Stating that their success proved there was no dearth of talent even among students studying in government schools, he called upon them to set goals in the early stages of their careers to achieve something big in life.